Group Class Notes (Vocabulary)(Raph)

Homework

Write a paragraph using some of the new words you learned today. Correct it with your teacher on your next F2F class.

Reading

Original

The Assistant

John is a business assistant at a major multinational company. His boss, Anna, is a very competent and ambitious woman and he admires her a lot. She always treats him politely and is very understanding when he goes through some difficulty or needs help understanding a task. John feels very lucky to have such an amazing superior.

Upgraded:

The Assistant

John is a business / commercial / corporate / assistant / helper / aide / junior / subordinate at a major / main / big / important / famous multinational / international / global / transnational company / corporation / firm / business. His boss / superior / leader / head / manager / director / supervisor, Anna, is a very / really / totally / super competent / good / capable / efficient / successful and ambitious / determined / go-getting / aspiring woman and he admires / likes / looks up to / thinks she’s great / respects her a lot. She always treats / handles / deals with him politely / gently / nicely / respectfully and is very understanding / thoughtful / considerate when he goes through / faces / experiences / encounters some difficulty / problem / issue or needs help / support / assistance / a hand understanding / knowing / comprehending a task / job / mission. John feels / thinks / sees himself as very lucky / fortunate to have such an amazing / great / fabulous / excellent / outstanding / awesome / dream superior / boss / leader.

Vocabulary

Synonym (n): 1- a word or phrase that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.
E.g.: The words “small” and “little” are synonyms.

Antonym (n): 1- a word that means the opposite of another word.
E.g.: Two antonyms of “light” are “dark” and “heavy”.

Multinational (adj): 1- involving several different countries, or (of a business) producing and selling goods in several different countries.
E.g.: The UN has sent a multinational peace-keeping force.
E.g.: He works for a major multinational food company

Competent (adj): 1- able to do something well.
E.g.: He is a very competent secretary.
E.g.: I wouldn’t say he was brilliant (=super smart), but he is competent at his job.

Ambitious (adj): 1- having a strong wish to be successful, powerful, or rich.
E.g.: She’s an ambitious young lawyer.
E.g.: He’s very ambitious for his children (= he wants them to be successful).

Admire (v): 1- to respect and approve of someone or their behavior.
E.g.: I admired him for his determination.
E.g.: I really admire people who can work in such difficult conditions.

Treat (v): 1- to behave towards someone or deal with something in a particular way:
E.g.: My parents treated us all the same when we were kids.
E.g.: He treated his wife very badly.
E.g.: It’s wrong to treat animals as if they had no feelings.

Polite (adj): 1- behaving in a way that is socially correct and shows understanding of and care for other people’s feelings.
E.g.: I’m afraid I wasn’t very polite to her.
E.g.: She sent me a polite letter thanking me for my invitation.
E.g.: He was too polite to point out my mistake.

Superior (n): 1- a person who is above you at an organization / company.
E.g.: I cannot make this decision without talking to my superior first.

Subordinate (n): 1- a person who is below you at an organization / company.
E.g.: I have three subordinates in my department.

Aide (n): 1- a person whose job is to help someone important, such as a member of a government He’s been a senior government aide for many years.
E.g.: The president travels with a large number of aides, wherever he goes.

Global (adj): 1- relating to the whole world.
E.g.: Global warming is a problem that we need to solve as soon as possible.
E.g.: Apple is a global company and has stores all over the world.

Firm (n): 1- a company or business:
E.g.: He works for a law firm in New York City.
E.g.: He’s just started working for an accountancy (会计) firm in Cambridge.

Capable (adj): 1- able to do things effectively and skillfully, and to achieve results:
E.g.: She’s a very capable woman/worker/judge.
E.g.: We need to get an assistant who’s capable and efficient.
E.g.: My boss is a very capable woman and can handle everything very efficiently.

Efficient (n): 1- if someone is efficient, he/she does things in the best way possible.
E.g.: He’s quite smart, but he’s not very efficient at his job.
E.g.: Every boss likes efficient employees.

Go-getting (adj): 1- energetic, determined to be successful, and able to deal with new or difficult situations easily:
E.g.: He’s a go-getting high-powered business manager.
E.g.: Steve Jobs was a go-getting person.

Aspiring (adj): 1- someone who is trying to become successful in a specific career.
E.g.: He’s a very talented aspiring singer. I’m sure he will be successful someday.

Comprehend (v): 1- to understand.
E.g.: I couldn’t comprehend anything she said.
E.g.: The book is interesting, but a bit hard to comprehend.

Fortunate (adj): 1- lucky:
E.g.: You’re very fortunate to have found such a nice house.
E.g.: He was fortunate in his choice of assistant.
E.g.: It was fortunate that they had set out early because the traffic was terrible.